Can You See Who Watched Your Reels on Instagram?

updated April 13, 2023
Reading time6 minutes
Jaqueline Corradi
Jaqueline Corradi
Content Manager

One doubt many Instagram users have is: "can you see who watched your reels?".  That's an important question because people want to know who is following up closely on their content, and identifying the viewers helps with that. 

On the other hand, if Instagram reveals who has watched a reel, people may feel inhibited from seeing them. Many users value their privacy when showing the content they enjoy on Instagram and other social media.

Check out the article to discover if you can have access to all the profiles that viewed your reels. 

What Is a Reel?

The reel is a  type of short video that is shared through Instagram. It's recorded vertically and commonly used to record dancing and lip sync challenges, tutorials, recipes, and mini vlogs. A reel often has no more than 90 seconds because the idea is to create content that won't take a lot of time to see. 

Instagram reel

Source: Instagram

However, currently, Instagram has enabled users to create reels with up to 15 minutes duration. You can use the Instagram app to record the reel directly from it, but it has to be 90 seconds long maximum. However, you can edit your reel using a third-party app and upload a video that lasts until 15 minutes. 

There are several features that you can enjoy to make an even more appealing reel. You can add text to reels, gifs, songs, and Instagram filters. Use your imagination to develop high-quality content in the reel format. 

Where Can People See The Reels You Publish?

If you have a public Instagram account, which means that your followers and non-followers can see your posts, your reel may be shown not only in your feed but also on the Reel page. There is an Instagram section entirely dedicated to reels, where users watch videos suggested by the platform. 

The Instagram algorithm analyzes what type of videos the user likes to watch and suggests similar ones to them. If your video has good content, a high number of views, and the appropriate hashtags, you can reach a bigger number of people on their reels page.  

When you have a private Instagram profile, though, your reels can be seen only by your followers. The reel appears on your profile feed, and their Instagram home page. You can also share the reel on Facebook at the same time you post it on Instagram. 

Can You See Who Watched Your Reels on Instagram?

For the pending question "can you see who watched your reels on Instagram"', the answer is no. Instagram doesn't reveal what profiles have seen a reel, however, you can know how many views it has. 

It's also possible to see the number of likes and choose if you want to show this information or not. You can check who liked the reels as well. For Instagram users who have a business or creator account, you can even find more information about the performance of each one of your reels through the Insights feature. 

Can You Know Who Has Visited Your Instagram Profile?

Just as Instagram doesn't show who watched a reel, it doesn't allow you to know who visited your profile. Even though this means you don't control who sees your profile if it's a public one, it can be beneficial because people feel freer to navigate through Instagram knowing when they access a profile their identity remains secret, unless they send a link or write a comment on a post.  

Use Insights to Know More About Your Audience

Even though you can't see who watched your reel, the Insights feature offers you valuable data to analyze your reel performance. But, that feature is only available for creators and business accounts. If you have a personal account, you need to switch to one of those two types first.

To check the data about one of your reels you need to:

1 - Open Instagram, and access your account;

2 - Go to your profile, click on the reel you want to see the information;

3 - Click on "...";

Instagram reel

4 - Click on "Insights";

Instagram reel menu

5 - Then, you can see the number of views, likes, plays, accounts reached, and comments, how many times your reel was sent to someone, and how many people saved it. 

The image shows Instagram data about a reel.

It also shows how many of the views came from followers and non-followers, besides other valuable data.

How to Get More Views on Your Instagram Reels

Publishing reels can be a great way to expand your audience, build brand awareness, and encourage users to engage with your content. To achieve those results, though, you need to use strategies that will increase the chances of being seen by more people. 

Know Your Target Audience

Who is your audience? This is a primary question to understand how you can create reels that will drive their attention, and make them want to continue seeing your posts. Try to understand what your target audience likes, and what their demands are. 

Once you have these well-defined, analyze how you can help them to solve their demands. Thousands of reels are shared every day on Instagram, you need to deliver something valuable to people, so they won't keep scrolling the feed when they see your reel. 

Use Hashtags

The correct use of hashtags increases the chances for your reels to be shown to more Instagram users in their reel and explore pages. Choose the hashtags that are close to the topic you approach in your reel.

Plan Your Content

Before pressing the record button to create the reel, research the topic you are going to talk about, get to know the types of reels your competitors are making and research the current trends. You can make a script to help you create an even more interesting reel. 

Another factor that can increase your visibility is when you participate in popular trends. You probably have seen challenges, songs, and dance moves that go viral because of one reel, then people use this to record their version. 

A trend means many users are interested in the same topic, therefore, you already know there is a demand to be fulfilled. Keep yourself always up to date with what is making success with your target audience, and look for ways to create original and high-quality reels based on this.  

Grow Visibility With Your Reels

Even though the answer to the question "can you see who watched your reels?" is no, this doesn't mean it isn't worth making reels. On the contrary, you have a great opportunity to conquer more visibility on Instagram when you publish them. The reel has become a very popular format inside the platform. Enjoy the possibilities to enhance your Instagram profile performance.

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